Saturday, May 14, 2011

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

A night to remember .................

Where do I begin?  Such an emotional evening, meeting new people, and those who I've never met paying their respects to John - it was all so surreal. The Glendale American Legion Post #29 Honor Guard, under Bob Hicks, was there to perform the memorial ceremony. George Cushing, retired U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant, past Commander of the Northwest Valley Veterans Association was in attendance; Rev. R. Dale Copsey, Ret. Chaplain, Lt Col, USAF-Ret, a 2007 recipient of the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society from Mesa, Arizona, presided over the memorial service, and many others whose names I cannot recall at the moment, were there to pay their respects as well.  These lovely "young" gentlemen took time out of their lives to honor my brother and it was MY honor to meet them and give my own thanks.  I was presented with the American Flag - soon to be framed and displayed for all to see.   As strong as I purport to be, I boo-hooed through the entire ceremony, tears I've not shed for John for many, many years.  It was cleansing.  I'm  still absorbing it all and, once again, words escape me.  The artist, and my friend, Patricia, was so supportive and so "there" for me - I thank her sincerely. To gallery owner, Kristin, my deepest appreciation for allowing this most unusual, and perhaps the "first-of-its-kind" event to take place in her gallery.  I will write more but wanted to share with those who visit my blog a brief synopsis of the evening.   I hope John liked it.